Why We Need a New Katamari Damacy

According to a post on ResetEra, Bandai Namco recently filed a trademark for Katamari Damacy Reroll. While no information has been officially announced, the title of the trademark hints at the possibility of a remaster or HD collection. The last Katamari game to release on consoles was Touch My Katamari for the PlayStation Vita in 2012. Two mobile titles, Tap My Katamari and Amazing Katamari Damacy were released in the past two years.

Other than the obvious reasons — like six years passing since a console release and giving me an excuse to sing the incredibly catchy theme — there couldn’t be a better time for a new entry to the Katamari series.

In a console era brimming with hyper-violence, realistic graphics, and a focus on competitive gaming, giving gamers the opportunity to unwind and lose themselves in a world of quirky wonders is especially welcome. Of course, games like Donut County and the upcoming Untitled Goose Game, are scratching that itch a bit, but they still don’t satisfy that feeling of rolling up every object and person in sight.

For those unaware, Katamari Damacy is a game that puts players in the minuscule shoes of The Prince of Cosmos, as he takes his magic ball and rolls different objects up around the world to increase the size of said ball. The reason for doing so? Well, your father accidentally destroyed all the stars in the cosmos and needs to replace them. Simple enough, right?

One thing that made the Katamari games so enjoyable is the way they plop you into this vibrant world with the most outrageous, nonsensical background story you’re expected to live and breath from beginning to end. From the King of the Cosmos’ hilarious and belittling conversations with you to the bizarre cries and sound effects of picking up stray cats and alarm clocks on the side of the road. Did I mention the phenomenal soundtrack?

Controlling the magical Katamari ball with dual stick controls is surprisingly smooth and intuitive. While it takes some getting used to, running across town picking up pieces of candy (at first) to literally pulling out homes and trees from the ground is extremely satisfying from beginning to end. The artistic flair and inescapable charm will only be accentuated on modern day consoles. 

The PS4 and Xbox One are capable of displaying vast worlds with amazing detail and superbly realistic graphics, but that doesn’t mean that the additional graphical power wouldn’t make a new Katamari title striking and breathtaking, too. We’ve seen that games like Breath of the Wild and Persona 5 can push console capabilities to their limits while staying true to their specific art style. Series creator Keita Takashi was so impressed by Bluepoint Games Shadow of the Colossus remake he tweeted them asking to remaster Katamari as well.

Pushing graphical fidelity aside, the current console generation can also give Katamari fans more of what they really want — objects to stick to their Katamari. With better processing power, the outlandish levels can be filled to the brim with even more unique and creative items to get in the way and ultimately become a beautiful glowing star in the sky. 

Don’t think we’ve forgotten about how Katamari and the Switch would be a match made in heaven. The pick-up and play capability of the Switch suites the gameplay of Katamari perfectly. Each level only takes about 10-15 minutes to complete (not including collectibles), and the low-stress, wacky play style fits excellently with handheld play. Touch My Katamari and the mobile games gave us a taste of what portable Katamari can be, but we’re ready to see that taken to the next level. The delay of the Nintendo Direct this week has us on the edge of our seat when it comes to possible announcements.

Whether an HD collection, a full-on remaster, or a new entry to the series, the time for a new Katamari Damacy game is upon us. Unless of course, it’s a gacha-styled game playing on the ‘Reroll’ part of the title, in which case, we’ll be patiently waiting for our beloved King of Cosmos to bless us once more.